Over the course of the series, Alan Alda comes to believe that a big part of the human spark is our extreme social nature. In this video, Alan goes for a walk outside the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology with psychologist Mike Tomasello. They chat about one unique aspect of that sociality – what Mike calls “We-ness.” All our shared values that allow us to cooperate and collaborate lend a “we-ness” to the human species that is certainly lacking in our primate relatives.

Can you think of examples of “we-ness” that you experience throughout a normal day?

In a three-part series originally brodcast on PBS in January 2010, Alan Alda takes this question personally, visiting with dozens of scientists on three continents -- even undergoing an examination of his own brain.» Learn More

Major funding for The Human Spark is provided by the National Science Foundation, and by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the John Templeton Foundation, the Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, and The Winston Foundation.